A bit of color

A few new bits of color landed this week. Little projects that, like most things in our life, seem to hang out in the “in progress” stage longer than you thought possible but then sneak across the line to “finished” eventually.

We’re always on the watch for wall art Dean and I can agree on, and those posters were an emphatic yes we when discovered them at an art & craft fair back in December. We even managed to buy frames in January, and get the posters in the frames in March. And yet they were still sitting in the closet, waiting for final adjustment and hanging, a week ago. But they’re on the wall now, making the kitchen a little more cheery.

I also picked up the unfinished pine dresser from IKEA a couple months ago. But “reorganize closet” didn’t actually make the monster list of things to do this spring, it’s more of a side hobby, so about weekly I would give the box a pat to let it know it wasn’t completely forgotten and then go back to other more pressing tasks.

And as much as I enjoy closet organization… And I really do. Dean made the mistake of mentioning he was thinking of tackling his closet several months ago and I badgered him for ages to actually do it. When he finally did, we negotiated that I would sit on the bed while he did it but would not helpinterfere. I was happy there for hours. But I digress.

The exciting part of the dresser project had nothing to do with closet organization, but my discovery of milk paint. Milk paint! Are you familiar with this magical substance? It is an old fashioned, utterly non-toxic paint that comes in powder form, and you mix it in your own kitchen to your desired consistency, and then it creates the most stunning finish. It dries completely matte, almost chalky in color. But after a coat of oil, it has some depth. Lots of people seem to also apply a topcoat of wax and some distressing details, but I skipped all of that. I absolutely loved the process, and the final look. I’m enamored with this whole palette and was scheming ideas for more projects on which to use it the whole time I was working on this one. I’m pretty sure there will be more milk-painted furniture in our house soon.

Oh, and it seems that I’m not quite done with that rope basket sewing jag, either.

The hardware store here just had cotton with poly core, so that’s what I’ve been using. They did have a “natural” toned alternative to the bright white, which is nice. I’d love to try all-cotton. Also the size is 7/32″, because someone else mentioned that. Length is a bit of a trade-off – the longer hanks gives you more flexibility, but of course it’s a bit more to manage. Can’t wait to see what you make!